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Member Reviews

Thank you to Netgalley and Grand Central Publishing for the ARC.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 5/5 stars

How does Harlan Coben always one-up himself? The Match may be my favorite of his books yet. The Match follows Wilde (from The Boy from the Woods) on his journey to find out more information about his mysterious childhood. However, a DNA site leads to even more questions and mystery.

The Boy from the Woods was my first Coben novel and then I went on 15 book binge because I loved it so much. I am hoping Coben revisits Wilde and Hester and friends because I love him just as much (if not more than) as Myron and Win. This mystery is so intricate and twisty and entertaining. I was hooked from the first chapter and dreaded putting it down. I love how it involves so many characters from the Coben universe, but can still be read as a stand-alone. All the stars. I don’t know how I will wait for his next book.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Full review to be posted closer to release date.

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There has not been one Coben book I’ve read that I haven’t loved. This is the follow up to The Boy From The Woods and though it can be read as a stand alive it would be great if you read it also. It’s great to see Wilde and some other old favorites too. This one just flew by and I wish I could have slowed it down to enjoy it more .

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The sequel to 'The Boy from the Woods' starts out off with a 'wild' turn of events. Wilde begins to piece to together the truth behind his lost years. A DNA match sets forward a chain of events that will leave readers eagerly paging through the novel to discover what really happened.

You can read the book as a standalone but I would suggest checking out the previous title to learn why Wilde keeps people at arms length as well as the reason Hester, Laila and Matthew are the only ones that he trusts.

Thank you to #NetGalley and the publisher for the early edition of #TheMatch in exchange for an honest review. I wasn't sure if I would like the book at the beginning but by mid novel, the story switches into high gear. Readers are taken on a key speed chase to discover the killer and the mystery behind Peter's disappearance. Get ready for a 'Wilde' ride and determine if Coben's novel is a match.

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Cool concept, interesting characters, and the quest for DNA truth will bring you on a wild ride over the river and through the woods. Where you end up is a bit unpalatable, but i guarantee you’ll enjoy the trip!

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Many characters, some old, some new. Lots of sarcastic humor. Complicated happenings. Very typical of Harlan Coben. No surprises here.

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ANOTHER winner by Harlan Cohen. Great plot, moves along well. Very readable and enjoyable. Must read.

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Excellent

This featured one of my favorite characters., Wilde, of one of my favorite authors, Coben. I am always a bit hesitant when starting a book by a favorite author because my expectations are high and I am afraid this will be the one where they "jump the shark". I am happy to say this was an excellent book.

Wilde, a man who got his name as a child because he was found living alone in the woods, got a match on a DNA registry. It linked him to PB, a reality star who recently took a big fall from grace and was presumed to have committed suicide. It also involves a group of vigilantes called Boomerang who try to get back at internet trolls.

The story was very well-written and has a great bunch of like-able characters. I was happy to see how the relationship between Wilde and Laila, the widow of Wilde's best friend was handled.

This is definitely not a shark-jumping book. I highly recommend it.

f you have not read a book by Coben before, this can be read as a stand-alone, but it is better enjoyed after reading "The Boy From the Woods", which introduces Wilde.

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I have to be honest. I hated the Boy From the Woods. Because I've always read Harlan Coben, I decided to read this book anyway. It wasn't bad. It was a decent story, but I'll take Myron and Win over Wilde any day. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

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Wilde is back and dare I say, this is Coben’s best book yet. With some old favorites (hello, Hester Crimstein) reappearing and some newer darlings from Wilde’s last book, we are drawn deeper into the life of the boy from the woods. Mixing elements of DNA tracking sites (a la 23andme), reality TV and vigilante justice, the characters feel like friends and as always, I regret finishing too quickly, knowing that I will need to wait a year for the next book.

This is a follow up to The Boy From the Woods but can definitely be read stand alone as well (you should definitely read both, because they are great, but you don’t HAAAAVE to read TBFTW to read The Match)

Look for this one in March 2022!

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I most like the Coben books with Myron and Win so at first I was disappointed to start a book with Wilde. But then the tale became intriguing and Coben's writing prowess showed through. The story will grab fans of Coben and The Boy from the Woods.

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Thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

4 Stars

Wilde returns to the Ramapo Mountains and finds a clue to his parentage and maybe why he was left alone in the woods as a small child. He gets involved with a long lost cousin who disappeared. There is also a group of people who take on line bullying doxing very seriously.

Make sure to read The Boy in the Woods before reading this. Another highly enjoyable book by Harlan Coben.

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I love Harlan Coben and this book did not disappoint. It is the second in the series with Wilde, the man who grew up in the woods. I actually like this book better than the first. True to fans of Coben, this book is highly entertaining and a quick read. Thanks to @netgalley for the eARC.

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Wilde is back in town, still trying to come to terms with his life and the open questions about his parents and how he came to be left abandoned as a little boy in the woods, but now he’s got some matches on a DNA site. Of course, nothing is as straightforward for Wilde as he hopes; if it were, he likely would have met his parents a lot sooner in life. When his “investigations” start leading to some very strange behavior, and then even murder, he realizes he’s not the only one looking for these people. Harlan Coben is a standard for me; I rarely need to even know what the book is about before diving right in. Is some of the dialog a little hard to believe? Yep. Does it stop me from wanting to read his next book? Nope. Here’s hoping to more from Wilde in the future!

Special Note: Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

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I was given this book by NetGalley for an honest review -
A little boy grows up in the woods - How did he end up there? How did he survive?
When grown he wants to know the answers so enters in a DNA and there is a match - so he begins the search for his father - and just as quick there is a killer after him - why? How is it related to the search for his father?

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Author Harlan Coben is a master at creating compelling characters that jump off the page and into the reader’s mind, full-blown entities ready to engage fully with their stories. Wilde is one of his most creative, the child found living in a forest on his own, something akin to a Jungle Boy, abandoned and left to his own devices, inconceivable in modern times. THE MATCH combines an origin story for Wilde with a mystery involving reality programming and social networks, something Wilde clearly knows nothing about; it’s a great juxtaposition of concepts. The adult Wilde is curious about his past and may have some new information about relatives through DNA, but secrets are always tricky. This is one excellent mystery. I received my copy from the publisher through Netgalley.

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I had not realized until I had it in my hands that Harlan Coben’s THE MATCH was a sequel/continuation of ‘The Boy From the Woods’. More than that, it is now listed as a series. My problem with all this is that as much as I enjoy Coben’s work, TBFTW was the most lackluster, disjointed, and disappointing story I’d ever read from the author.

That being said, I was willing to give this second ‘Wilde’ book an honest chance. It was a great improvement over the first, imo; and much more concentrated on Wilde. This was a better story, the reader learns much more about Wilde and how he came to be left in the woods. The story was interesting in places, but far too long and drawn out.

I’m sure I’ll give the next book in the series a read, but not with the same anticipation as with the author’s excellent domestic thrillers. This series honestly doesn’t read like something Coben really wrote himself. It certainly fails to reach the excellence he’s known for.

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Harlan Coben’s books are delicious reading…like junk food. Is there better writing in the thriller/mystery genre.? Definitely. But his writing is for when you’re in the mood for familiar comfort food versus elevated cuisine. Thanks to NetGalley for a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

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Wilde is back and Harlan Coben has done it again. The Match is utterly compelling with his complex characters, suspense, and plot twists we’ve come to love… and a little bit of romance sprinkled in.

While this can technically be read as a stand-alone, I highly recommend reading book #1 first, The Boy from the Woods.

Overall it’s absolutely worth the read and you should definitely pre-order it if you’re a Coben fan, or interested in his work.

4.5/5 ⭐️

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I read this as soon as I got it- a great author is always a treat. This is the same...Wilde is a miracle child that moved from abandonment to a full, if odd, life. His connections with his family/attorney, foster family and past help him begin to search for his origin story.
He finds he may be related to a high profile reality star who is facing some heinous accusations. Peeling back the layers reveals complication after complication while the bodies begin to pile up.
The action moves swifty, and while there seemed to be a cast of thousands, it all get sorted and explained in a most satisfactory manner. Really enjoyed reading this, can't wait for the next Wilde adventure.

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Pub date: Mar 2022
4.5 A great follow-up to The Boy in The Woods! This one has Wilde (one of my favorite Coben characters) solving some of his own mysteries, which was fascinating and compelling! It wrapped up a LOT more than I expected, so I hope that it's not the last Wilde book 😱 A previous book's character is also included, and I had mixed feelings about it, since it was the ONE Cohen book of which I wasn't a huge fan. But it turned out ok! Highly recommended, but definitely read the awesome first book in the series first!

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